Vitesse cuts 60 jobs

Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. is laying off about 60 of its roughly 500 employees, the company said in a release.

The Camarillo company makes high-speed semiconductors for networks. It said the cut of 12 percent of its global workforce is designed to reduce operating expenses.

“While we do see a few positive indicators in the market, we remain cautious about the rest of 2009,” Chris Gardner, chief executive officer of Vitesse, said in the March 31 announcement. “It was important to take these actions now in order to achieve our goal to remain cash neutral or better for the fiscal year.”

The company said it had 504 employees as of September 2008 in its most recent disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission. About 230 of those employees worked in research and development, the filings said.

Vitesse didn’t say how many, if any, of the job cuts would occur in Ventura County. Officials at the company didn’t immediately return a phone message asking for more details about the reduction.

The cuts come nearly three years after a stock-options-backdating scandal rocked Vitesse in 2006. After firing its chief executive and restating its finances, the firm eked out net income of $17 million in 2008 after losses the previous two years.

Vitesse’s shares rose 2 percent to 32 cents March 31. The job cuts were announced after the markets had closed.